Table 1

Summarised recommendations of the Microbial Threat meeting

• The EU and members states must recognise that antimicrobial resistance is a major European and global problem
• Pharmaceutical companies should be encouraged to develop new antimicrobial agents but these will not solve the problem in the near future
• The EU and member states should set up a European surveillance system of antimicrobial resistance
• The EU and member states need to collect data on the supply and consumption of antimicrobial agents
• The EU and member states should encourage the adoption of a wide range of measures to promote prudent use of antimicrobial agents
• The EU and member states and national research councils should make coordinated research on antimicrobial resistance a high priority
• A way should be found to review progress with these recommendations and proposals